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Lakewood Wants To Retrofit 1,300 Old Buildings

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Oct 13, 2009 8:18 pm US/Mountain

Lakewood Wants To Retrofit 1,300 Old Buildings

Reporting
Paul Day
LAKEWOOD, Colo. (CBS4) ― One of Colorado's largest cities has a new plan for saving energy and creating jobs.

Lakewood is studying the possibility of doing energy audits on older commercial buildings throughout the city. Using that information, the structures would be retrofitted to prevent energy waste.

Mayor Bob Murphy says it's the brainchild of something called the "Greening Lakewood Business Partnership."

"It's about saving energy, it's about creating more income in our Lakewood economy because our business owners don't have to spend money on energy bills," Murphy said. "They can put more money into the economy and it's about workforce development and the creation of jobs."

The plan is ambitious because Lakewood has some 1,300 older commercial buildings, but one building will be the model -- the Learning Source building. It's 40 years old and has already had an energy saving audit.

An energy audit showed the Learning Source building wastes a lot of energy even though it's made out of brick. The audit concluded the brick exterior – even though several inches thick – only had the insulating capacity of a single pane of glass. They've decided to use a foam material to wrap the building and cover it with stucco. The building will also get a new, more efficient roof and more efficient windows. Inside the building the lighting system will be upgraded as well has the heating and cooling system. Solar energy will also be added.

All of the upgrades are expected to reduce the energy costs of the building by at least 50 percent, slashing a $40,000 annual energy bill to about $20,000.

Officials went to Gov. Bill Ritter's Energy Office seeking grants to pay for all the upgrades. They expect to hear a decision sometime in November.

The challenge will be to pay for upgrades to all the other 1,300 buildings. Murphy says they are looking at several financing mechanisms. One idea is to create an "energy improvement district." Another idea is to create a revolving loan fund.

If Lakewood can achieve its goal, it's a great way to save energy and create jobs.

The Greening Lakewood Business Partnership includes Red Rocks Community College, the Better Business Bureau, Veterans Green Jobs and the city of Lakewood.

(© MMIX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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